Shark Week 2013!

Happy Shark Week! In celebration of Shark Week, we have a special feature for you! Coloring contest winners AND up close shark shots!

First, we’ll start off with showing the O4 World Oceans Day coloring contest winners from the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden! The event went off with a splash! All the participants did an amazing job, but alas, winners had to be chosen. Below are a few images of some of the winners. The winners were shown behind the scenes and even were able to see above their 55,000 Indo-Pacific Tank. Thank you to Magen Lynn Sier and her staff for being apart of this O4 event! We love working with you and hope to do another amazing contest next year!

Next up, we’re going to dive into the O4 Shark Week celebration! This year, the Director of Ocean4, Jessica Adanich, teamed up with writer Jennifer Chesak to create a children’s book for Shark Week. Jennifer Chesak, the writer of the story, owns the publishing company Wandering in the Woods. She is a fantastic writer and a great person to work with! The book is called Behind the Glass with Sherman the Shark.

Sherman, a shark at the Salty Dog Aquarium, has the blues. Whenever he shows his sharp teeth, he accidentally scares the children who come to visit. His manatee friend Wallace, on the other hand, is a big hit. Sherman tries everything from hiding to wearing a ballerina costume, but the fact is, he can’t change who he is. Behind the Glass with Sherman the Shark educates children on the valuable role sharks play in the ocean ecosystem, the threats sharks face and why shark conservation is a must. Readers also learn the importance of being one’s self, no matter what. A portion of the proceeds for this book go directly to organizations that help educate people about shark conservation.

Next up, we have images from The Jenkinson’s Aquarium! O4 Director went to the Jenkinson’s Aquarium in New Jersey for World Oceans Day. While she was there, she was able to get behind the scenes and catch some amazing shots of the everyday workings at the aquarium. Below are images of their new baby penguin, which at the time was just a month old! The best part of the day by far was seeing the sharks being fed! Jessica was able to watch feeding time at the shark tank and see the sharks up close.